


Rainfall

by Trillian_Astra



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Other, Reincarnation fic, girl!grantaire, the marius/eponine is implicit, very implicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 12:52:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/687168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trillian_Astra/pseuds/Trillian_Astra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's this new singer taking the charts by storm, and all her songs are dedicated to the (literal) man of her dreams. When Marius hears one of her songs, he becomes convinced that the singer is the reincarnation of his own dream girl, and goes in search of her.</p><p>(written for a prompt at the Les Mis anon kinkmeme at LJ)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rainfall

 

_“…and the rain won’t hurt me now…”_

Marius looked up suddenly when he heard what was playing on the tiny radio that Courfeyrac had placed on their shared desk. The song seemed… familiar. He listened to the words and was shocked when they stirred a memory. Someone lying in his arms. Someone _dying_ in his arms, a girl, the same girl he’d been dreaming about for years.

He shook his head quickly, and heard the radio DJ say _“…and that was ‘Rainfall’, the new single from Talia, whose platinum-selling album ‘Apollo’ is available to buy and download now…”_   Marius scribbed the name _Talia_ on a scrap of paper, got up from his chair and reached for his coat.

Courfeyrac  looked up from his work. “Where are you going?”

“I have to go and buy a CD.”

“O…kay,” Courfeyrac said sceptically, “do you want to tell me what this is about?”

Marius grinned. “My soulmate!” he said as he ran out of the door.

**

Marius found a copy of Talia’s CD, took it home and immediately started listening. He played every song three times over, read the lyrics to every verse. He turned on his computer and searched for interviews she had done.

One interview in particular caught his attention.

_“…so, Talia, there are so many love songs on this album… is it dedicated to anyone special?”_

_“Well,” she started with a laugh, “you could say that. I recorded this album for the man of my dreams. I’ve been dreaming about him for as long as I can remember.”_

_“Oh, a mystery man, how interesting,” the interviewer said.”_ On the video, Talia laughed and shook her dark curls and changed the subject. Marius paused the video. He was sure.

He had been dreaming of his girl all his life. She had been dreaming of her mystery man all _her_ life. He smiled to himself, sure that he had found her.

The problem was, she was a musical megastar, and he was a junior clerk in a law firm. How was he going to get near her?

**

Marius broke away from the other music fans as they exited the concert hall. When he saw a sign that said “Backstage”, he looked around surreptitiously and slipped inside. Backstage turned out to be a long corridor with several doors leading off. He wandered along, looking at the signs on the doors until he found one that said ‘Talia’.

It also said ‘Private: no admittance’. But Marius took a deep breath, reminding himself that this girl was his soulmate, and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” came a voice.

He opened the door. “Talia?”

“Yeah,” she said, and he realised that she was even more beautiful in person than on TV, “who are you?”

“I.. I was at the show, you were amazing.”

“Thanks, mate.”

“…and… I wanted to ask. About ‘Rainfall’….”

“What about it?”

“It sounds like something I’ve heard before. I think you said it to me.”

“I’ve never met you before.”

“I’ve been dreaming about this girl. I think she might be you. You said… the album was for your dream man, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” Talia said, “but you’re not him.”

Marius stared at her. “Wha-“

“You’ve heard the whole thing, right?” He nodded. “Yeah. Did you listen to ‘Sunrise’?”

“I…. yes…”

“That song makes it clear that He has blond hair. He looks like an _angel_ , or a god, why do you think I called the album ‘Apollo’? You’re not Him. You’re not even close to being Him.”

“Oh.”

She grinned at him, picked up a beer, and drank from it. “No hard feelings, though. And… that stuff about your dreams, that’s interesting.” She reached for a pen and scribbled a number on a napkin. Then she handed it to him. “My private number. Call me, if you remember anything else. Now I suggest you go, before security finds you.”

The door crashed open.

Talia winced. “Too late,” she mouthed at Marius. To the new arrival, she said, “Hey, great show tonight, don’t you think, Cos?”

“It was great, as usual. Who’s this?”

“He’s a fan. Mate, this is Cosette, my star manager and also my baby sister. Don’t mess with her.”

Marius turned to look at her, and froze, gaping at her. Suddenly he remembered. Everything came flooding back. He swallowed, and tried to speak, but nothing came out.

Talia drank some more of her beer and said, “Do you two know each other?”

Marius stammered out, “I.. I think…”

“…we were _married_ ,” Cosette finished his sentence, incredulously.

Talia looked at them. “Right. I’m going to need a few more drinks if this is going to make sense…”

Without really knowing what he was doing, Marius said, “Grantaire, have you ever done anything without needing a few more drinks?”. He turned and looked at her in surprise. “ _Grantaire_?”

She raised her bottle to him in a mock toast. “Hey.”

“You’re a… and the album is for…”

“Well, yes, I’m a girl, and yes, the album is for Him. For Enjolras.”

Marius blushed. “I am _so sorry_ for earlier.”

She shrugged. “S’okay, you didn’t remember.”

“We need to find Enjolras.”

She grinned. “I like that plan.”

**

“OK, so… you’re the reincarnation of some dead French guy, a platinum-album-selling singer is the reincarnation of a _different_ dead French guy, said singer’s sister is the reincarnation of your _wife_ , and you’re on a quest to find Talia’s soulmate?”

Marius shrugged. “I know it sounds crazy..”

“It sounds _insane_ ,” Courfeyrac said, “and this is before we get to the part where I am apparently _also_ part of this mass delusion of yours.”

“You don’t have to help.”

Courfeyrac just looked at him. “Someone has to make sure you don’t get yourself sectioned. Or arrested. Or killed.”

“Don’t be so melodramatic.”

“So, your wife… is she hot?”

“Cosette’s not my wife… at least… now she isn’t. It’s confusing.”

“You’re telling me,” Courfeyrac muttered as they stopped outside an apartment building. Marius pressed the button for one of the flats, and a few moments later there was a buzz and the front door clicked open. They took the lift up to the penthouse and Marius knocked on the door.

Cosette answered, and blushed as soon as she saw him. “Oh, you’re here… great, come on in.”

“Thanks. Um. This is Courfeyrac, he’s.. one of us,” he said.

“Oh! Who did you used to be?”

“Uh…” he didn’t get a chance to finish, because Talia appeared and cried out, “Courf!”

“G-Grantaire?”

Talia hugged him. “Marius, you didn’t mention him…” To Courfeyrac she said, “Did he fill you in?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’m.. remembering things, Grantaire… look, can I keep calling you Talia? ‘Grantaire’ doesn’t seem to fit any more.”

“It is my name now, go ahead. Now,” she said, “Someone said something about a plan?”

“Well that pretty much starts with you,” Marius said. “You’ve been having the dreams, was there _anything_ about where Enjolras might be now?”

“He’ll be an activist or a protestor or something. In the dreams that’s pretty much all he does.”

“OK. Protest groups. That’s where we start,” Cosette said. She went to the laptop that was open on the table and turned it on. “Any idea what kind of protests?”

“Anything to do with government reform, and only the nonviolent ones.”

Cosette looked at her. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. Only the nonviolent ones.”

**

They spent the rest of the weekend researching protest groups and scouring pictures from rallies for faces that they found familiar. And when they weren’t doing that, they were drinking beer and getting pizza delivered and talking about the memories that were awakening within them.

They were losing hope in their search. Courfeyrac had turned on the television and was channel-surfing aimlessly, Cosette was tidying up the empty cans and pizza boxes, Talia was opening another beer and only Marius was still studying pictures.

“There!” Talia shouted.

The others looked at her. She was pointing at the TV, currently on a 24-hour news channel. “That’s _him_ ,” she said, “I know it is, that’s _him_.”

The handsome blond man on the screen was talking about government reform, true, but he wasn’t a protestor. The bar at the bottom of the screen read _Michael French, MP: appointed to lead reform committee_.

“We’ve been looking in the wrong place,” Cosette said softly.

At the same time, Courfeyrac said, “I _know_ that guy.”

Marius and Talia both looked at him. “ _What_?” They said in unison.

“We were at school together, I haven’t seen him for years.”

“…so, you could introduce us to your old school friend, then?” Talia asked.

“I suppose…”

**

“The minister will see you now,” Michael French’s secretary said. She was, in truth, somewhat  puzzled by the appearance in the office of an extremely well-known singer, the singer’s manager and two clerks.  That they had an appointment (Cosette had phoned ahead) surprised her even more.

“Thank you so much,” Cosette  said as they walked past her.

As they stepped into the office, Michael French was sitting at a desk, engrossed in reading something. “Whatever it is, can we make it quick?” he said, without looking up.

“ _Permets-tu_?” Talia said, stepping forward.

He looked up, blinked, and stared at her. “Do I… know you?”

“Mr French,” Marius started, do you have… dreams?”

He didn’t answer, however, because Talia had closed the space between them in a few strides and had kissed him full on the mouth.

When she released him, he looked up at her and murmured, “Grantaire?”

“ _Bonjour, mon ami_ ,” Talia said. “I’ve been looking for you, Enjolras.”

“You have?”

“I recorded an entire album dedicated to you. It went _platinum_.”

“I don’t really… listen to popular music. Sorry,” he shrugged apologetically.

“You’re lucky I love you,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “And… the rest of you… Marius, I remember now… and you, you must be Cosette… what of the others?”

“I’m sure they’re out there,” Talia said, “We’ll find them sooner or later.”

“I think we need to talk about this, it’s… a lot to take in.” He picked up the phone on his desk to talk to his secretary. “Ellie, can you come in here?”

A moment later the door opened and she appeared. “Yes?”

“Cancel all my appointments for today, something’s come up. I’ll be leaving the office early today.”

“OK,” she said, “I’ll rearrange everything.” Then she quietly left.

“We’re going to bring everyone back together again,” he said when she was gone. “We’ll be together. The way we should be.”

 


End file.
